entregarvsestragarWhich spelling fits?

Which to use

“entregar” and “estragar” are a confusable Portuguese pair: similar on the page, but distinct in meaning, check the gloss before you choose.

#2,514
“entregar” frequency rank
#5,943
“estragar” frequency rank
8457
confusion score

Side-by-Side Comparison

Feature entregar estragar
Definition transportar algo até o destinatário desejado causar estrago em

Where the eye mixes entregar and estragar

Muted = shared; highlighted = the visual trap. They share 6 letters in sequence. entregar and estragar follow the identical consonant-vowel pattern (VCCCVCVC). Same shape at a glance is often the real trap, independent of shared letters.

8 ch
entregar
8 ch
estragar

Why the eye confuses entregar with estragar

A purely visual mix-up. entregar (/ẽ.tɾɨ.ˈɡaɾ/) and estragar (/iʃ.tɾɐ.ˈɡaɾ/) are said differently, so reading them aloud is the quickest way to catch the wrong one. On the page they stay close: they share most of their letters but differ in 2 positions. Our composite confusion score for this pair is 8457, derived from the frequency rank of both members and their visual similarity.

entregar is recorded at frequency rank #2,514, classified as averb, pronounced /ẽ.tɾɨ.ˈɡaɾ/. estragar is at rank #5,943, tagged as averb, pronounced /iʃ.tɾɐ.ˈɡaɾ/.

Glosses for this pair are partially populated in our dataset, but the full side-by-side definitions above should still guide you to the right choice.

With a confusion score of 8457, this pair ranks #65,310 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs - a relatively easy-to-tell-apart pair.

Orthographic DNA of entregar vs estragar

Shared letters: aegrt. Private to "entregar": n. Private to "estragar": s.

"entregar" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC  ·  "estragar" · 8 letters · shape VCCCVCVC

Known mistypes of this pair

  • entregarenntregar · enrtegar · entergar · entreagr · entregarr · entreggar · entregra · entrgear
  • estragaresrtagar · esstragar · estargar · estraagr · estragarr · estraggar · estragra · estrgaar

Frequently Asked Questions

Can "entregar" and "estragar" be used interchangeably?
No. They are said differently (/ẽ.tɾɨ.ˈɡaɾ/ versus /iʃ.tɾɐ.ˈɡaɾ/) and carry different meanings; reading the sentence aloud is usually enough to catch the wrong one.
Which is more common, "entregar" or "estragar"?
"entregar" is the more common of the two: it sits at frequency rank #2,514 in our Portuguese list, against #5,943 for "estragar". The two are close in frequency, so neither is a safe default; check the meaning rather than guessing.

Useful next steps

Visual near-miss handled. Browse the word pages or a neighbour when the next look-alike shows up.

  • Full dictionary entry for "entregar" with definition, IPA, and generated misspellings. Word entry
  • Full dictionary entry for "estragar" - compare definitions side by side with the headword page. Word entry
  • This pair ranks #65,310 of 75,631 scored Portuguese confusable pairs in this corpus vintage. Corpus statistics
  • "entregar" and "estragar" also get mixed up with nearby pairs, the highest-scored neighbour is "estagiar vs estragar". Nearby pair
  • Recorded mistypes exist for at least one side of this pair, useful when a spell-checker or OCR lands on the wrong form. See mistypes

Confusion rank #65,310 of 75,631 scored Portuguese pairs, corpus vintage 2026-09-03, not spelling advice.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list